PureHealth acquires LYT-100; Sosei raises USD 2.5 M

PureHealth acquires LYT-100 to treat lymphedema

PureTech Health, a pioneer in the development of therapies for dysfunctions in the brain-immune-gut axis, has announced to acquire a clinical-stage drug, LYT-100 for the potential treatment of lymphatic and immunofibrotic diseases including lymphedema. The candidate, LYT-100, is an oral, small molecule, has been acquired from a pharma company where it was under clinical trials for other indication. The candidate exhibited anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory mechanisms and was well tolerated in preclinical studies, with a favourable pharmacokinetic profile to support twice-daily oral dosing. With the acquisition of the drug, PureTech plans to expand and progress its R&D pipeline advancing the pipeline for the disorders related to the lymphatic system and local modulation of the immune system such as immune and central nervous system disorders, lymphatic conditions, and cancers.
Lymphedema is the most common and chronic lymphatic disease resulting in inflammation, swelling, and build-up of fluid in arms and legs. The most prevalent form of this condition, secondary lymphedema is usually caused as the side effect of cancer treatments or due to the infections from damages or removal of lymph nodes. At present, the lymphedema treatments comprise compression and physical therapy, with non-curative approaches that fail to correct immune cell infiltration or regenerate the dysregulated lymphatics. However, companies like PureTech Health are committed to developing an effective approach to treat secondary lymphedema without surgery.

Sosei Heptares raises USD 2.5 M, plans to advance its R&D pipeline

Sosei Heptares, a Japan’s biotech pharma company, has secured USD 2.5 Million in a deal with Formosa Pharmaceuticals, which recently has won FDA approval for its Investigational New Drug (“IND”) application for APP13007 to begin a first-in-human (“FIH”) clinical trial in the United States. Initially, APP13007 was under the regulation of Activus Pharma, which was divested to form Formosa Pharmaceuticals, as a part of Sosei Heptares’ redirected growth tactic to advance the development of new medicines from its GPCR-targeted StaR technology and structure-based drug design platform capabilities. APP13007 is a nanoparticle formulation of the corticosteroid clobetasol under development for the treatment of post-operative inflammation of the eye.
Sosei Heptares is exploring and inking deals with a long list of major pharma giants to accelerate its pipeline. After Allergan, AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo, recently Sosei collaborated with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, to discover and develop novel medicines that modulate G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) targets across various diseases. The multi-target research collaboration and license agreement are finalised with an upfront payment of USD 26 Million to Sosei and select global rights to Genentech for developing and commercializing potential new medicines.

Orum Therapeutics bags USD 30 M, plans to target undruggable targets

Orum Therapeutics has successfully secured USD 30 Million in Series B financing led by IMM Investment, Smilegate Investment, KTB Network, and Stassets Investment, join along with the existing ones, InterVest and KB Investment/Solidus Investment. Orum plans to use the proceeds to fuel its OromabTM, Orum’s proprietary cell-specific, cell-penetrating antibody platform technology. The Oromab platform has the potential to block RAS activity, thus safely targeting the mutation, and is developed to target novel therapeutics to target cancer and other rare diseases. Orum also plans to expand its R&D labs in Korea and Boston, where the company was lately acknowledged as a biotech incubator in Kendall Square, Cambridge.